Press and die therefor



Jan. 18, 1949. L. GRANAT PRESS AND DIE THEREFdR Filed NOV. 7, 1945 IN V EN TOR Z50 emw 7' Patented Jan. 18, 1949 UNI TED S TATES PATENT OFFICE "PRESS AND DIE THEREFOR Leo Granat, San Francisco, Calif.

-ApplicationNovember 7, 1945, Serial No. 627,236

1 Claim. .1 This invention relates to the combination of a, power press and'die .usedifor sinking -lettered or design inscriptions in surfaces of impressible materials.

It is-an object of the invention to provide a press and dle combination particularly 2-' adapted to applying impressed designs or lettering to the inside surfaces of tubular or annular members.

,Another object of the invention is to provide mechanism .for applying impressed designs or lettering to theinside surfaces of annular members, such as'finger-rings, which is arranged "to prevent expansion f the impressed body in its least cross sectional dimension by displacement of the'body mass'caused as aresult of penetration into the mass by the die.

:A further object of the'inventionis to provide, in.-.-apparatus of the character described, novel die mounting and adjustment meansadap-tedto per- Init rapid die interchange and facilitation of registry with the impression die of selective holding means used to receive and support the objects to be impressed in properly registered and aligned relationship with the-impression die.

*Still another object of the inVention-is-to provide a comp-actportable device, of the class=referred to, which is capable of producing, by manual efi'ort, an excess of power-over that required to impress alettering or design engraving or embossing die-in the surfaceof even comparatively hard and impression-resistant materials.

Other objects and features of advantage, in addition tothe foregoing, will become apparent to those skilled in theart to which the apparatus pertains as the hereunto annexed detailed description of the invention proceeds. -It is to-be understoodthatthe inventionis not to belimited to the specific 'form thereof herein shown and described as various other embodiment-sthereof may be employed within the scope of the appended .claim.

In the drawing:

Figure l is alfront elevational viewof the press of my invention showing the relationship of the parts at the start of an impression stroke. A portion of the view is broken. away and shown in vertical sectionso as=to more clearly disclose-the internal construction.

Figure2 is a View, similar toFigure 1, showing the relationship of the parts at the completion of anlimpression stroke.

Figure 3-is a'longi-tudinal vertical sectional view of the presstaken in the -pl=ane indicated by the line-3-3 of Figure .1. I

Figure .4 is a iragmental top plan view-of the ledge 13 spaced above the base fiange' fi.

die bolster plate. The plane in which the view is takenis indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a rear elevational View of the apparatus'shown in a reduced scale.

Referring to Figure 3 of the drawing, the structureof myinvention comprises an integral supporting frame having a base flange 6, provided with apertures l for the reception of hold-down bolts, a column 8 rising vertically from the base flange and an extended bossll projecting rearwardly from the co1umn-8. 'A'rib ll joining the base plate, columnand boss provides vertical reinforcementof the latter against flexing stresses. The forward face I! of the column is a machined surface and rectangularly intersects a horizontal Positioned on th ledge I3 is a bolster plate It held in place and in secure engagement with the surfaces l2 and 13 by mounting screws I5 passing through apertures bored horizontally through the bolster plate and engaged in coextensive threaded holes formed in the column'8.

Means are'provided for supporting and adjust ably positioning a die block on the bolster plate. Formed in the upper surface of the bolster plate and paralleling the front face of the latter is a groove l1 having, as is best shown in Figure 4, a W-sha'ped leaf spring l8 lying along its rear side and secured in place by means of an axially vertical fixed pin [9 engaged in the centermost entrant portion of the spring. Positioned in the groove l'l'is a die carrier comprising a block 2! of comparatively hard metal which is slightly narrowerin width than the spacing between the pin l9 and the forward side of the groove I I so that the carrier may be slid into the groove longitudinally. Thefiexed portions of the spring is, in their free state, extendtransversely into the groove materially-beyond the pin l9 so that, when a carrier 2i is placed in the-groovathe consequently flexed springs will exert considerable pressure in urging the carrier toward and against the forward side of the groove. The groove I1 is accurately -machined so as to rectangularly intersect the longitudinal axis of the supporting frame with the result that substitute carriers 2| placedin the groove will be precisely registered with cooperating elements of the die structure. The carrier 2| is provided in its upper surface with a die'back'groove 22 precisely paralleling the groove I 7 and fitted with a die block 23, of relatively softmetal, having just sufficient clearancetransversely of the groove so as to .permit a slight frictionally resisted movement of the 3 block when the latter is urged longitudinally of the groove.

Means are provided for supporting a movable die element above the die block and means are further provided for forcibly urging the die element toward the die block. Secured in the bolster plate l4, and rising in relatively spaced relation adjacent the rear edge thereof, is a pair of parallel guide pins ,24 on which is mounted, for vertical sliding movement, a die head 26. The guide pins 24 are spaced forward of the column surface l2 and the die head is so proportioned that its rear surface 21 lies contiguously with and slides along the column surface. The boss 9 is axially bored to journal a shaft 28 having an integral collar 29 thereon, J'ournalled in a counterbored portion 3| of. the shaft bore, and fitted with an integral crank pin 32 journaled in a bearing block 33 eccentrically positioned relative to the axis of the shaft 28 and adapted to slide in a groove 34 provided in the die head 26 and extending horizontally across the rear surface 21 thereof. The other end of the shaft 28 is secured, by a setscrew 35, in the hub 3'! of an operating lever 38. The arrangement of parts is such that, when the lever 38 is manually moved downwardly toward the base flange 6 or its support, the subsequent rotary movement of the shaft 28 will cause motion of the crank pin 32 in a partial orbit about the shaft axis thus imparting vertical motion to the die head 26 and effecting linear movement of the latter toward or from the die block 23. A die 39, secured by a screw 4| to the front face of the die head 26,

is carried by and duplicates the movements of f;

the latter.

The mechanism shown in the drawing is particularly designed for applying impressed lettering or similar designs to the inside surfaces of tubular members such as finger rings 40 in which a manufacturer desires to inscribe the metal type or quality, the makers name and other identifying insignia. Heretofore, such inscriptions were impressed into the rings by means of hand tools, constructed in the form of punches of the hammer blows, may produce in successive rings faulty impressions which are not clear cut thus rendering the inscriptions hard to read and detracting from the otherwise fine workmanship which the ring should possess. In addition to this, should the punch type be imbedded too deeply in the metal, it will cause undue displacement of the nearby metal which will create a slight spreading of the ring band and will effect the appearance, on the sides of the latter, of visible bulges. These bulges, even though very slight seem to be magnified by their presence on a highly polished surface and greatly detract from the appearance of the ring. I obviate many of the objections inherent in the use of hand tools by making the die 39 of generally cylindrical form and possessing a dimension of greatest diameter capable of entering, with considerable clearance the smallest rings to be inripheral ridge 42 on which the desired master letunderlying the ridge 42 I provide in the die block 23 recesses 43 which are shaped as chordal portions of annuli representing the various sizes and cross-sectional shapes of the rings to be inscribed so as to form pockets which will snugly fit the ring bands. It will be noted in Figure 4 that the die block is formed with rows of recesses 43 which are respectively spaced equidistantly from the adjacent side of the block so that when the latter is switched end for end and reinserted in the groove 22 or when the carrier 2| is likewise repositioned, automatic alignment of a selected one of the recesses and the ridge 42 will be had in a plane intersecting the longitudinal axis of the press. Alignment in a plane parallelin the above axis may be had by shifting the die block 23 and/or carrier 2i to register the selected recess 43 with the ridge 42.

In operating the press, assuming that the prep arations of mounting the desired die 39 and alignment of the proper recess 43 with the die ridge 42 have been taken care of, the die is lowered by manipulating the lever 38 until it is just above the die block 23 and sufficient space exists to insert the band of the ring below the type ridge and into the recess 43. The lever movement is then continued downwardly to bring the die into actual engagement with the ring band and to cause the type or design contained in the ridge to become imbedded in the ring metal to form therein the desired impression. The depth of impression may be regulated by a screw 44 or other stop means carried by either of the relatively movable members l4 or 26 and engageable by the other member so as to limit their degreeof relative approach. The operation of impression may be accomplished as rapidly as successive rings can be placed in and removed from the press and no vigilance on the part ofthe operator is required to check perpendicularity of the die with the ring surface or the depth to which the impression is made since these are automatically taken care of by the construction of the recesses 43 and by the stop 44. Thus impressions in successive ringsof a given size will be identical as to alignment and depth of penetration. There will also be no perceptible expansion of the ring band in its narrow dimension due to the fact that the metal of the band, in which the impression is taking place, is completely confined in the form-fitting recess.

Any expansion that does occur will be distributed circumferentially of the band where it will not show as a bulge on the outer surface of the band.

Having thus described my invention in detail, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: I v V In apparatus, for impressing inscriptions on the internal surface of an annular member, having a supporting frame, a bolster plate fixed on the frame provided with a guide groove traversing the longitudinal axis, of the frame, and a die adapted to enter said annular member and positioned above and movable in a linearly vertical path intersecting said bolster plate guide groove; a die block in and slidable longitudinally of said guide groove, said die block having therein a plurality of aligned recesses shaped to conform with and to receive dissimilar chordal masses of respective annular members, a leaf spring having a portion thereof secured in said guide groove and engaging said die block to frictionally resist movement of the die block in the guide groove, said die having an impression element thereon engageable with said annular member and said die block recesses being successively registrable with the path of movement of the die whenthe die block is moved along the guide groove, and a stop element threadedly engaged with the bolster plate and interposed between the latter and the die for variably regulating the degree of relative approach of the die and die block.

LEO GRANAT.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Storm Sept. 7, 1858 Number Number Number Name Date Smith Feb. 21, 1882 Peckham Oct. 25, 1892 Lehr June 3, 1902 Weaver Jan. 10, 1922 Halvorsen Oct. 29, 1929 Scholz Feb. 16, 1937 Piperoux Dec. 21, 1937 Wickwire July 5, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Aug. 4, 1932 Germany July 15, 1924 

